One of the many reasons test automation is often compromised is in situations where business funds technology projects on a per project basis. Key reason being business benefits of automation, primarily time to market, are realized only during the subsequent releases of the application, never in the release where automation is undertaken. Even when business agrees to fund an automation project, the order of magnitude of benefits is small due to the potentially low levels of automation feasible within the project scope. The benefits accumulate only over a period of time from increasing automation levels and therefore the return on investment is realized over a longer duration. In order to reap benefits from automation business needs to continually invest in it and maintain a long term orientation to ROI. These are typical characteristics of any change initiatives. Test automation initiatives funded by individual business units can therefore learn from the vast expanse of knowledge pertaining to other organizational change initiatives and do not need to reinvent the wheel.
I have captured my experience of change initiatives as applied to automation in the visual below. It shows key components required to not only succeed at a pilot project but also create a cascading positive spiral where the benefits accumulate over time.
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Like any other change initiative the key components form a chain, where the initiative is just as strong as its weakest link. Successful pilot accompanied by the right communication can act as a feeder to the next project and as long as all key components act in unison incremental benefits from each project can lead to significant cumulative benefits. The problem is that the first cycle tends to be demanding and it needs continuity of the champions until such time that the framework is institutionalized. A failure at early stages can have devastating effects with a stigma associated with it presenting greater roadblocks during subsequent attempts at automation. This is where senior management support from business and IT is crucial. A champion driving each automation cycle to success is central for the overall success of automation!
What do you think of the role of change management in automation projects? Have you had difficulty funding automation projects? Please feel free to share your?experiences.
Aparna Katre |?Director Strategy | Zen Test Labs
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